TinyCat

The Cat is out of the bag…

http://blog.librarything.com/main/2015/06/introducing-tinycat/

Now, your questions?

Cute logo! Great concept!

I'll answer one that comes to mind:

Q: Will regular users be able to use TinyCat.
A: Yes. Personal users will be able to use it for free, without limit. Some members will prefer it's slim and structured presentation, especially until our mobile app comes out. Organizations will be required to pay.

Thanks for this! Do you have a price (or range?) for how much Organizations will have to pay to use TinyCat?

>3 timspalding:

So will it function as an alternative Profile for anyone visiting my library? I'll use the checkout feature a little, but mostly the library functions won't apply to the way I use LT.

I also like the logo and the overall outreach to libraries, though, very much in line with how I hope LT (further) carves out a niche for itself.

We're still working it out. It has to be cheap. LibraryWorld is $495 a year (up from the catchier $365/year!). I'd like our to be based on size and, well, ability to pay. No little church is going to pay that kind of money, nor should they. But I'm willing to let the small corporate libraries pay us in the hundreds.

I'd love something that started at, say, $50/year and went up to a few hundred. We could make the very smallest—classroom libraries, for example—free. But, as I say, we're still deciding.

So will it function as an alternative Profile for anyone visiting my library? I'll use the checkout feature a little, but mostly the library functions won't apply to the way I use LT.

You can link to it, but part of the point is that TinyCat is NOT within the LibraryThing link-o-sphere. The problem with LibraryThing for small libraries is that everything leads somewhere else. It's a wild and woolly book utopia. But a patron who doesn't get this ends up on someone else's library, thinking that's the local collection. And the UI isn't familiar to them either. So, in a way, TinyCat is "LibraryThing Minus."

I also like the logo and the overall outreach to libraries, though, very much in line with how I hope LT (further) carves out a niche for itself.

Yeah. It plays to our strengths. And it guarantees the core of LibraryThing, which is the cataloging and book data, is given strong attention. I mean, well, I've had three developers working on LT for six months now. That's possible because everything they make for TinyCat is also helping LibraryThing.

Is this more like a different interface to LT that can be used by organizations that already have an LT catalog, or a separate product? If it's separate, is there a simple migration procedure for organizations that already have an LT account?

Is this more like a different interface to LT that can be used by organizations that already have an LT catalog, or a separate product? If it's separate, is there a simple migration procedure for organizations that already have an LT account?

It's the former. Except that we're going to encourage people to join LibraryThing for this. This is one reason we just debuted MARC importing. There are a lot of small libraries out there.

Set-up is going to be automatic—everyone with a public account will "get" a TinyCat. But there'll be some simple customization options.

>7 timspalding: I like this. I often give people - people who live in Vienna and read English - my LT URLs, but they never get back to me to borrow books. I think you may have hit on one of the reasons why. It will be interesting to try this out. It really seems a shame that all the books just sit on our shelves most of the time.

I see that the review count on the screenshot ("359 more" for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell) and the actual review count for that work (553 English-language reviews) don't match up. Are you applying the LTFL review filtering?

Are you applying the LTFL review filtering?

Yeah.

Isn't a tiny cat a kitten?

>14 Taphophile13: Tiny and young are not necessarily the same things. From Tim's perspective, a tiny cat is probably a normal house cat to the rest of us, given (as I understand it), all they have in Maine is Maine coon cats, who average 150 pounds and three feet tall at the shoulder.

>14 Taphophile13:
I asked the same thing on the blog post.

>15 prosfilaes: And now I'm trying to imagine a "tiny" Maine coon.

>17 Taphophile13: My Maine coon is (relatively) tiny. Only 15lbs.

>18 lorannen:
In other words, bigger than other cats, but not Great Dane huge.

>18 lorannen: Is having a Maine coon a requirement for employment in Maine or just at LT? And do you have any pictures?

>19 AnnaClaire: Exactly. But we don't tell her that—she's convinced she is a monster of epic proportions.

>20 Taphophile13: Momo is actually from Chicago, originally—she came to her motherland when I did. It's not impossible that she was part of why LT hired me. Do I have any pictures? What kind of cat mom do you take me for?

>21 lorannen:
:-)

 

Oh, and by the way,

When does it become available?

>23 waitingtoderail: We're aiming for within a month or two!

>21 lorannen: I'm not a cat aficionado but Momo is gorgeous!

No cat photos!

<dies a horrible, furry death>

>23 waitingtoderail: Aw, thanks! I'm a pretty big fan, myself.

>26 timspalding: Little does Tim know of our plans for reconfiguring the storage space around the office: http://story.siz.io/post/117736638049/kitten-hanging-out-in-their-own-sections-o...

>21 lorannen: Oh, she looks so sweet!

Apparently Tim is allergic to cat photos.

I have a small question - also yay, cat photos! Will there be a discount/price difference for nonprofit and charitable organizations or just for smaller outfits in general?

If you will be charging small organizations, could you lay out the advantages for us more specifically? It sounds like Tinycat will be more user-friendly, but what advantages will it have for the librarians of small groups? Can we track loans?

I've been wanting to use something to help my 2nd graders out with finding books they would be interested, checking out books from the classroom, and writing their own reviews so others could see them. I already spend a ton of $ on my classroom and don't think I could spend anymore. If it was free I'd be up for trying it.

To add to the last couple of questions about pricing, so this will be a change from the current organization pricing? Right now it is just the standard $25 lifetime, but it will be $/ year? What will happen with organizations who currently have lifetime memberships?

I've been thinking about cataloging our PSR library at church in the fall (right now it is just a very messy and very basic access database). I see some advantages to having it all on LT, but I'm not sure about convincing my non-tech savvy boss, especially with much of a fee.

Will there be a discount/price difference for nonprofit and charitable organizations or just for smaller outfits in general?

I think that's a good idea. We need to find a good model. Basically, we want everyone to use, and pay what they can. But it's hard to get the numbers right.

If you will be charging small organizations, could you lay out the advantages for us more specifically? It sounds like Tinycat will be more user-friendly, but what advantages will it have for the librarians of small groups? Can we track loans?

Well, you can already do that—look up the "Circulation" feature.

I suspect some regular users will take to it. But the main use is as a way to show your library as a library, without all the potential distractions. A friend of yours, or a visitor to your blog, will want to see you on LibraryThing. But if you're running a small lending library or a church library, all the dazzle of LibraryThing detracts from the simple ability to see a collection and find books in it.

I've been wanting to use something to help my 2nd graders out with finding books they would be interested, checking out books from the classroom, and writing their own reviews so others could see them. I already spend a ton of $ on my classroom and don't think I could spend anymore. If it was free I'd be up for trying it.

Yeah, a classroom library is the sort of thing we'll be making free or very cheap. As for reviews, we're not planning social features in it, at least at first. Making a site 2nd graders can use—legally—requires some very considerable privacy programming and legal work.

I want a T-shirt with the logo - squeee!

Snort. We should make them, you're right!

I want a T-shirt with Momo... :)

@conceptdawg, Looks like the TinyCat logo is a hit - well done :)
I'm particularly excited to see this used in small lending libraries in the community that maybe don't even realize there is an option out there for them - a few places I thought of off the top of my head include LGBT centers, HIV/AIDS support organizations, Mental Health and Wellness offices, etc.

Yeah. See http://blog.librarything.com/thingology/2010/04/reading-alone-how-ebooks-will-ki... . Portland has a lot of such institutions, including many you mention.

>15 prosfilaes:

Tiny and young are not necessarily the same things.

Right. My sister had an absolutely adorable Tonkinese cat who never got much above 6 pounds. A very tiny cat, even when no longer a kitten.

>38 timspalding: Thanks for the link, I may know folks at more of these places than I thought to tag in my initial facebook share.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In library terms, TinyCat is the OPAC (“Online Public Access Catalog”), and LibraryThing is the ILS (“Integrated Library System.”)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

emm, shall TinyCat replace current ILS? or these will run side by side(each at its link)?

Well, this is a paid feature..
I`ll wait for price details...

I`ve a question...
Does TinyCat have social elibrary content as in current one? (Reviewing, starring, author data adding, author merging,etc...)
If yes, this will be a perfect alternative to Drupal`s SOPAC (Social Online Public Access Catalog)...
I like cloud solutions, not server- based ones, and that`s why I don`t prefer Drupal.

MOBILE!

I'm sorry if this is a dense question. I've read the blog and all, but I don't have a clear picture. For those of us who are LT members, but do not run a lending library of any size, is this something like an application which we could have on our phones or whatever to quickly look through our personal library? But perhaps not then go into groups to post, or other member's profiles, or the common knowledge feature, etc?

>44 MrsLee:

That's my understanding, though perhaps more precise to say it's not an app, rather a web page accessed via browser. The mobile app is separate (and still in development). TinyCat should provide a streamlined interface, and so useful on your phone.

Have I got that right?

>44 MrsLee:

No, it's not an app, it's just a different web interface. Nobody (other than staff, I suppose) knows whether it will be any more usable on a mobile than the main site.

#43,44,45,46
The blog stated clearly that no mobile app is ready at this point of time, but stated also that it`s a mobile friendly web interface (site)

Thanks, I missed the "mobile-friendly" claim. A screenshot on a mobile would be nice, if that's the case.

My only question is, when can I sign up to be a beta tester!

>45 elenchus:

So, it's mobile friendly, but the real point here is that it turns your LibraryThing into a "regular library catalog." You know your public library (or academic library)? It's like that. LibraryThing.com is both more and less than that. This is that.

The blog stated clearly that no mobile app is ready at this point of time, but stated also that it`s a mobile friendly web interface (site)

Yeah, it's mobile web. The app we're building—and which will also be demoing at ALA—needs to be an app because it has photo-taking, barcode scanning, etc.

@noveladdict23 #45
You can do this now be emailing info@librarything.com and expressing your request.
Did you get the email?? simply reply to it saying you want to join beta... that` all!

emm, too many content here that no one noticed my questions in #41, #42

emm, shall TinyCat replace current ILS? or these will run side by side(each at its link)?

Well, if you have a real ILS, like Sirsi or III, you may not want LibraryThing. We're only for tiny libraries, and real systems don't have much interest in that "market." If you have one of the tiny-library solutions out there, you'll replace it with LibraryThing and TinyCat.

Does TinyCat have social elibrary content as in current one? (Reviewing, starring, author data adding, author merging,etc...)

No, TinyCat picks and chooses some LT content that helps a patron find stuff. The final list isn't set, but certainly includes reviews, ratings, series, awards. (All will be optional, of course.) It won't have author-data adding and so forht, because that doesn't help patrons find things, and anyway LibraryThing has those.

If yes, this will be a perfect alternative to Drupal`s SOPAC (Social Online Public Access Catalog).

SOPAC is for much larger libraries—the libraries using it are all big publics (AADL, Darien, etc.). I love John Blyberg and everything he's done. (I tried to hire him a decade ago and I hope to have a beer with him this weekend.) I don't see this as competing.

This will be perfect for my small (lending) library. My member families keep getting lost on library thing when they go to the catalog to search for a book. It will be searchable by subject tags, author, and title, right?

Yes. Another stuff.

I am very interested in trying Tiny cat out for our small library at the community college. How do I get started?

Until you added Other to the call number section, we had our call numbers in the Comments section. In order to make maximum use of the wonderful search feature, when we didn't have a review, we typed in tables of contents or back cover/book flap information, etc. I had completed nearly 1,800 entries before I learned the Review section shouldn't be used that way. I am about half way through moving all our call numbers out of Comments to the new Other call number section and moving the book information from the Review section to the Comments section. I notice you don't have Comments on your TinyCat data page. Without Comments, we would lose the power of the search feature (and a lot of work).

>57 WARM: Thanks for the feedback. We're toying with the idea of adding a "swap information in field x to field y" function to Power Edit. You're certainly not alone in this!

>56 ECEepicenter: Email info@librarything.com with your username, name, and the library/college's info to be added to the list of folks interested in beta testing. We'll be in touch when the time comes!

@timspalding #53
Thanks for your reply..
but I meant with "ILS" current Librarything system..
Shall current LT catalogs be converted to OPAC? or shall each system have its separate links? or shall it depend on style selection?

>60 cairoartsjp:

I'm not totally understanding your question.

So, TinyCat is another way of presenting your LibraryThing catalog. It doesn't replace LibraryThing. In theory you could keep using another ILS system, and use TinyCat as the OPAC, but we're not offering any sort of integration options, such that holdings are constantly drawn from another system by screen-scraping, or whatever.

Anyway, this may confuse more than elucidate. Ask another question?

We can do without the reviews. This past year they've been creating video and audio reviews and using aurasma and QR codes to share with each other.

With aurasma? Seriously?

Hi Tim,

Sounds fantastic. You're right, the major problem with the public catalogue version of our Library Thing catalogue is that it's so easy for users to click out of it and end up lost in the Library Thing wilderness with no way of returning apart from repeated use of the back button. Also the current public search interface with the tiny 'Search Your Library' box is really hard to use as it's really hard to see.

So, am I right in thinking that this new TinyCat (love the name) will have a much bigger search interface, and one that more closely resembles a traditional library OPAC?

Yes. See the blog post at the start of this, with images of the UI.

>63 timspalding: http://www.aurasma.com/ - Basically you set up an url that links to an object you point to with your device's camera.

>63 timspalding: Tim: Yep. We even did a reading fair in May and presented different types of digital reviews the kids made to parents, other students and teachers, and administration in the school district.

Will there be support for journals? Our small company library is probably 4/5ths archived scientific journals with only about a 1000 books.

How do journals differ from books that they would need special support?

There are two key ways.

1. We need to capture and use ISSNs, the ISBN for journals. We can do that.
2. We'd need to capture the holdings for a journal—the data that tells you what volumes or sets or years or parts of those you have. That's another thing, and not likely to happen soon. But it's worth considering.

Hi. I'm REALLY excited about this! Been looking for just such a thing for my tiny library FOREVER. The main LT was just too confusing for my users, so I used the mobile version as my main catalog for patrons, but now that's packed up (all I get is error messages when I try to use it--something about trained monkeys), it's great to see this coming up!

Sent an email about beta testing. Hope I get picked as one of the beta testers!

Question: Could you please include a request button next to each title. This would make TinyCat SO useful for my patrons--and I suppose others' too. I don't have a physical space for my library, so people can't come and check books out. They can only see what I have, request what they want and have it sent/brought to them. So far, I'd pretty much hacked together a system to do that through LT (you can see what I mean in my collection). But if there was a simple built-in function for that, I would be over the moon.

Basically, what I'm hoping for is that patrons will see a title they want, click the request link next to it, see a pop-up box asking for their ID or name, fill in that information and voila, I get an email saying Mr. X wants Book Y. Others who have physical libraries might find this function useful for letting their patrons reserve items that are currently out or for reserving items ahead of picking them up at the library.

Thanks!!

Question: Could you please include a request button next to each title.

Right. I was thinking a single hold or request button might be sufficient. To keep it simply my thought was that it would be

1. Words the library fills in, detailing what to say.
2. A box where the patron can put some stuff.

Then the library gets a message with that box's contents.

That is, rather than having all sorts of special fields—with each library wanting different ones—we just make a box and let the library request info.

Thoughts?

Great idea on request box! I have just a lined pad of paper on a central shelf for this, and it's hard to read handwriting sometimes! :)

Also, on the mobile apps... PLEASE include an app for Windows. I'm a Windows girl! :)

Hmm...okay. I guess I'd have to see it to know. My users are generally very low tech folk, so whatever it was would hopefully be very simple and obvious. I suppose in my case, they could just fill in their ID # and the item number(s) into the box and send. But please let the button say "Request" not "Hold." Thanks!

I imagine that in TinyCat, I will still be able to use a bit of HTML in the title description section to link to an external request box just in case the standard system isn't right for my library?

Also, my library is a personal library, but I've given it a name and I do have patrons. Does that make it an organization? Will I be charged as an org for TC or as a personal user?

Thanks!!

>74 FaithLib: But please let the button say "Request" not "Hold."

Perhaps "Reserve" would work for both instances, requesting and holding a specific work.

"Request" vs. "Hold" vs. "Reserve" vs. "Lo voglio" (Italian for "I want it").

If you're still at an early enough (sort of) stage of programming, why not have all these sorts of labels user configurable? Perhaps, that would be something "value added" for which you could charge extra. Most of us shlubs would use the defaults, but for people who wanted to configure labels, having the ability to modify a table of customized labels would be nice. That would also make it easier for those wanting to use something other than English.

as >72 timspalding: says:
Right. I was thinking a single hold or request button might be sufficient. To keep it simply my thought was that it would be

1. Words the library fills in, detailing what to say.
2. A box where the patron can put some stuff.

so Tim's on the same page as you guys.

>77 JerryMmm:

I read that as:
• We have a button that says "hold" or "request"
• We have a paragraph that the library fills in saying "in the textbox please write the title of the book you want, and your library card number" or "in the textbox please provide your phone number so we can contact you when this book is available" or anything else that the library wants to say.
• We have a textbox that the patron fills in with information (hopefully what you requested of them in the previous paragraph) that gets transmitted to you when the patron clicks "hold" or "request" or whatever the text of the button we make is.

So it's not that the user gets to choose what the button says, but that they get to choose what else gets said, although who knows, maybe they'll get to choose the button text as well.

When can we expect to see Tiny Cat?

>79 FaithLib:

Two weeks

Within July or August.

See https://www.librarything.com/topic/193039. How much should it cost?

Looking forward to using TinyCat! I'm wondering if there will be a way to add in a note about book location. For example, if I am in a very small office, we may have books on shelves scattered around in different rooms and might want to say "Mary's office", "boardroom" or "storage" and the like. I'm just in the process of figuring out how to do that with the existing LibraryThing.

Thank you!
Connie Crosby

The new 'Other Call number' ought to work.

I see it--thank you, MarthaJeanne!

Now that TinyCat is available, where is it?

a request button would be great for our tiny library too. We also - like FaithLib - do not have a public space for our library. We only have about 40 books, on Mad Studies. I'm really happy TinyCat will come soon. I now have our library on LT and indeed, people get lost and do not understand it. We do not have a lot of money, very little only. So I really hope it will be affordable, so that I'm not forced to stay in LT.

Bear with me; I have a few questions, and I may not be the brightest button on the keyboard.

So I've created a LibraryThing account for the club library and I've started entering a few books so I can play around with it and see if it will work for us. I assume when Tiny Cat comes online, I just apply it to the account?

I see that under the 'Lending' column, if I enter a patron, then the patron stays on the records even after books have been returned. Is there another way to enter patrons, along with their details? We charge a nominal borrowing fee (which is where we get our budget for new books) so we do need some method of doing month end accounts.

Is there a way to check a patron's history, or even a book's borrowing history? Sometimes we have to track backwards e.g. for missing books (unfortunately our current system, which is essentially just a database, allows us to check books out of the system without them being returned into the system; very confusing if we've missed entering it). Or sometimes patrons want to know if they've borrowed a book before.

Our current system is patron-focused, rather than book-focused. Obviously LT is book-focused; but I did notice the phrase 'patron focused' on the Tiny Cat blog. So I'm hoping that when a patron checks out a heap of books, I don't have to trawl through all the books in the library to check each one out?

Coming back to accounts, that is an essential part of how our library works, and I assume we're not the only organisation that will need them. Is there a method I can use to calculate month end accounts? We charge 30c per week for children's books and 50c per week for adult books (and a perk of being a librarian is that we can borrow for free, if we so choose - though we don't all utilise the privilege). Our current system is also set up to automatically generate reminder (and second reminder) letters; will that be included in Tiny Cat?

Oh; and if members want to search our catalogue, what is the quickest way to find it on LT?

And I noticed on the blog some mention of keeping patron details private. I can't work out how to show users that a book has been borrowed without showing the details of the patron who has borrowed it. Obviously, we need to know that for our own records, though.

>89 humouress: Whether they're logged in or logged out, this link will lead them to your catalogue http://www.librarything.com/catalog/humouress/yourlibrary (granted, you apparently need this for another account, so if you go to the profile for the other account, and click the "Your Library" link near the top of the page, that will also give you the link to give to everyone). I can't say what will happen with TinyCat later.

Thanks, bestem

>89 humouress: Only library staff can see who has borrowed a book - you must be logged in to do so. Users will not be logged in, so they will only see that it has been borrowed, but not by whom.

>86 92bookworms: TinyCat isn't available just yet! We'll be releasing the beta version within the next month or so. Email me at info@librarything.com with your username and contact information, and we'll get you added to the list of testers! :)

>88 humouress: You'll be given a direct URL for your TinyCat catalog, just like with your LT catalog.

If you go to your Lending Summary page (https://www.librarything.com/circulation/humouress), you can click to your list of Patrons and edit their names, but that's all we have for TinyCat right now. We do see ourselves adding Patron Information/Management in later/larger versions of TinyCat, though.

You can click on a Patron's name in the Lending Summary page to see their Lending history.

You're right, LT is definitely `book-focused.` If you need to check out a heap of books to one patron, you can use our CueCat barcode scanner in the Your Books page to quickly look up ISBNs and find the books you need to update the Lending status for. We also just added printed barcodes and Barcode Support for your books, if you want to use a barcode system.

For the accounts and reminders bit, we haven't built that into TinyCat. This is definitely something we'll want to consider as TinyCat grows, if we develop larger versions of the feature. @timspalding could probably elaborate on this.

ETA: if you have any other questions, feel free to email me personally at kristi@librarything.com!

Any update on when TinyCat will be available, yet?

This is great! When can I use it! How can I duplicate my existing LT library into it?

From what I understand, it's just another view of your library, so you won't have to duplicate anything.

Will this be fully online only? Will there be an offline option as well at any point in the future?

>95 HollandseClub: It's my understanding that now that we've got new media out and the iPhone app being released, we'll be focusing our attention to TinyCat! Not sure of the new deadline yet, will post any updates here though.

>98 aredlily: Fully online right now. Not sure if Tim's planning on offering an offline version in the future--if so, I don't see it happening for awhile.

@aredlily #99
Many people requested offline version of current LT (including me) long time ago, and this is not done yet, so, I don`t expect it being done with this newer feature either...
If you want an offline version of your LT library there`s a non- official android app for you at Google play store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kinverarity.offlinebookshelfbr...

You may need a non- official LT scanner as well:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.owlfish

(Sorry, I didn`t post any official links.. my simple reason is that, they don`t exist. (There`s only an i-phone app, not sure if it`s for viewing or for cataloging, as I don`t use i-phone).

If you need an offline version for your LT library with advanced features (Search the catalog, place a hold, see what you have checked out, renew items, see upcoming events, contact a librarian, and more), or if the app above doesn`t work for you, contact abigail@librarything.com (paid service), you can have a look at many apps in android play store that was created by him (just type librarything in search panel).
Here are two examples:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phonegap.LibraryAnywhere
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.librarything.libanywhere.custo...
But kindly note that I had mailed him and got no reply, and that I mailed LT Support Team and they didn`t recognize such service, and when I sent them the links I got no reply. (may be a service that was cancelled due to problems, or may be a service for enterprises, or some other reason.. Really, I don`t know..)

Well, your last solution is to hire an android programmer that can create an app for you using LT`s API.
Here`s one example:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.librarything.libanywhere.custo...

You`ll need to send him LT`s API instructions, which can be found at: www.librarything.com/api

(Don`t worry.. you can hire an iOS programmer if you want an iphone version).

Are there any updates on Tiny Cat? I've been holding off cataloging my books (I need to ready them for a move--wanted to do this first), but we're nearing the end of September, after the original June 24th announcement at the beginning of this thread.

Also, have the Beta Testers been selected or notified yet? I sent an email back when it was first announced, but haven't heard anything further, that Beta had begun. Thanks!!

I also want to toss out, how excited I would be for an iOS app. It would be awesome to be in a bookstore, and be able to scan a book, and quickly see if it's already in your library.

>100 cairoartsjp: Many people requested offline version of current LT (including me) long time ago,

The current LT is a web page. Web pages run in your browser and disappear as soon as you go to another page. It doesn't make sense to talk about offline for a web page.

@jjwilson61 #102
The apps mentioned above in #100 save the last state of any given LT library.. just as an offline web downlaoder.. No new stats (added books, circulation changes,etc) till you re-update that given library.
May not be a good idea, but it`s a solution that works for some people who need it :)

@Dreamlily #101
I`d sent support team an email yesterday and got a reply that this is still in progress and that they took time adding some new features and that we shall be informed via this page...
Don`t worry :)

>103 cairoartsjp: Right. An app can store state, like the contents of your library, on your local device. A web page cannot no matter how well programmed.

>105 jjwilson61: Actually a web page can. See http://diveintohtml5.info/storage.html
Not saying it is easy or preferable, but it is possible.

iPhone app? Yay!!

*disappears to investigate*

ETA *returns, confused*
Can't see it, unless it's the LT Catalog app by Jomnius, which looks like it involves a lot of technical hocus pocus I'll have to work out?

It hasn't passed though Apple's approval process yet, see iPhone app submitted, awaiting approval.

>108 anglemark: Ahh; thanks. *drumming fingers*

TinyCat Update:

We're working on it full-time now. (We were delayed by the app somewhat.) The issues and incompletes are falling fast. We've like to get a beta out to people next week or, at worst, the week after. Full launch will then wait on reports and on a promotional site that's still in development.

Ah! Good to read of the progress.

Two weeks?

Believe it or not :)

Drumming my fingers on the table....
:)

When will TinyCat be here?

It's out in beta right now.

>115 JacksonPLibrary:

Kristi is going to invite you into the beta.

We're anticipating another several weeks. But it's being extensively tested by testers right now.

Good to hear--I think we were going to be included in the beta test but I haven't heard anything. Too late to participate?

@timspalding, I have emailed you a .rar file with screenshots of some localization bugs.

>118 houserhenry: I'd be happy to invite you, but unfortunately TinyCat won't work for private libraries in testing. Shoot me an email (kristi@librarything.com) if you want to change your account to public for testing out TinyCat, and I can get you right in! Sorry for the trouble.

Can my church library (COK) also be added to the TinyCat beta test? Please?

Not sure where to put this feedback: The new interface looks nice. Well done. However, there are two drawbacks I've found to using Tinycat/librarything. 1) Whenever I go to my local public library website, the book details has a synopsis of the book. I'm not sure where this is coming from. Library of congress? Not sure, but this isn't a feature in LT. You have to click on an external source like amazon to get this which means you can't do any search on this information. Will this ever be something that LT can incorporate? 2) The generic import feature is very limited. I currently have everything in a spreadsheet with personal call numbers, categories, etc. However, I can't import these extra fields so I'd have to import based on ISBN and then manually go into each book record and make the updates. Can the fields which can be imported be expanded?

>122 biblechapel:

You can see the Description (which is often a synopsis for fiction) if you click on the title. Unfortunately it isn't searchable.

I checked a sample of books in my collection and get a description perhaps 10% of the time (I have no fiction books).

>122 biblechapel: Thanks for the feedback! The Description field is currently coming from the "Library description" field. Here's an example from my own library. Note that the text of the description for this page in TinyCat matches that of the Library description here: http://www.librarything.com/work/14603110/descriptions/119562222. It's at the work-level, which is why it's not searchable from your catalog. That's an interesting suggestion, though, so I'm adding it to our list of requested/suggested features for further consideration.

We're well aware that we need to expand our Universal Import feature—particularly to include call numbers. Our developers are working on it!

Do you have a list of RSI's on that import thing somewhere? or know of a thread in the RSI group?

>121 COK: I'm adding you now! You should see a group called TinyCat Testers show up over on Your Groups shortly!

>127 JerryMmm: There's a *lot* of requests for improving imports on LT, which we've got on our list as something we need to overhaul, but here's a couple of recent threads in the RSI group: http://www.librarything.com/topic/191291 and http://www.librarything.com/topic/178901.

A general search for "imports" in the RSI as well: http://www.librarything.com/search.php?search=import&searchtype=talk&sea....

Yes I'm aware that one can manually add your own description in the comments section but I don't want to do that for 1000+ books in my collection. Automatic import based on ISBN number or other identifier would make things a lot easier.

How do I join beta?

Never mind I found it

We're still checking out the Lending slowly. I see that it shows the history of patrons. I assume it shows overdue books? But is there a way to link it to send out reminder letters or e-mails for overdue books?

Since we are a club library, there are members who leave and whose accounts are deactivated, but sometimes they return and reactivate their accounts. I realise that might be a completely different level, but can Tiny Cat deal with that i.e. highlight patrons who are no longer eligible to borrow books if they do still try to borrow? And also reinstate them, if necessary?

>133 HollandseClub: Yep, on your Lending summary page (with the patron history, etc), you can view books by Lending status (including by "Overdue").

Currently, you can't send reminder letters or emails for overdue books, but we're working on adding more to the overall Lending system. See Tim's comments on that here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/205165#5344672. We'll be giving updates as we go.

The patron activation/deactivation you're describing sounds like something that we might include in a larger version of TinyCat, further down the road. We're focusing on a basic lending system for tiny libraries, but we're making a list of what we may want to include for the future. I'll add your suggestion to the list, thanks!

Could I be added to the TinyCat Testers?

Thanks so much!

>135 TRAdmin: Adding you now. TinyCat Testers should show up on Your Groups in a few minutes!

Hello Loranne, May I please be added to the beta testing group? Thank you!

>137 avere: Welcome!

>138 Collectorator: Added!

You should both find TinyCat Testers on Your Groups now.

Thank you!!

Can I be added to the TinyCat Testers?

>141 wrac: Sure thing! Adding you now. You should see TinyCat Testers appear in Your Groups in just a few minutes.

Would love to be added as a beta tester. Is that still possible? Many thanks!

catherine/RVA Maker Guild

>143 rvamakerguild: I'm adding you now - Check out your Groups (see Loranne's post above) for the TinyCat Testers and read the intro to get started! :)

Let me know if you have any questions.

Testing is nice and perfect :)
Any pricing plans announced?

Not yet. Likely when we release it!

Hello, May I please be added to the beta testing group? Thank you!

You should be all set, @rskopel! Go to your Groups and be sure to read the Group description to get started. Let me know if you have any questions. :)

Can I be added to the TinyCat Testers?

Can I be added too, please? Many thanks :)

Okay, so I was told that we are planning on releasing TinyCat soon! So, we're pretty much done with the first stage of testing - thanks for the offer, @razorsoccam and @PetterKringberg. My guess is we'll be releasing in the next couple of weeks, depending on how long the rest of our final tweaks take. (FYI, once TinyCat is released, folks will be able to preview their TinyCat library.)

>151 kristilabrie:

FYI, once TinyCat is released, folks will be able to preview their TinyCat library.

Have I been completely misunderstanding TinyCat the entire time? I've been under the impression that regular users would always be able to use TinyCat for free, and only organizational accounts would have to pay and thus have need for a "preview". Tim said this more or less flat-out back in post 2; has the thinking on that changed?

Yes. Regular users will be able to use it.

We haven't absolutely committed to it being visible to others that way. We're worried about institutions going under the radar.

>153 timspalding:, so, I can look at my own library through the TinyCat interface but I can't have anyone else look at it that way? Bummer.

>154 PhaedraB:

I don't know. We haven't committed.

>153 timspalding: I understand that. But I do hope it's budget-friendly, whatever you do.

I do understand the difficulty in separating personal from organizational accounts, especially given LT's long history of letting anyone say they're a person or an organization as the whim strikes. While I'd be disappointed at not being able to share this lightweight view with my family, I think that's the lesser of two evils compared to a bunch of organizations fraudlently claiming to be individuals and getting the benefits of all this hard work for nothing.

(Grandfather in accounts existing prior to some date that are not marked as organizational, maybe?)

Right. Or just give people a way to affirmatively state that the are not an organization, and have us approve it.

T

>120LibraryThing employeekristilabrieNov 12, 2015, 10:49am
>118 houserhenry: houserhenry: I'd be happy to invite you, but unfortunately TinyCat won't work for private >libraries in testing. Shoot me an email (kristi@librarything.com) if you want to change your account
> to public for testing out TinyCat, and I can get you right in! Sorry for the trouble.

Whoops! I missed this note. My plan was indeed to make the account public once I had the invite or we had signed up. Guessing we've missed the boat on beta testing. - Connie Crosby

Any word yet on when TinyCat is opening up and pricing model? We are anxiously waiting ;)

>161 houserhenry: The beta testing was closed briefly, but Tim decided to keep it open for folks who wanted to try it out before we officially release. If you can let me know when you change your account to public (at kristi@librarything.com), I'll be able to add you to the testers group!

We're hoping to release very soon, we've just got our hands full with a few other projects as well (hiring a new sysadmin, etc). We'll be sure to keep everyone posted of any updates. :)

I'm still recording our library books in our account, so haven't been able to play around with it much. A couple of questions:

- will we be able to see the past history of the books borrowed and the patrons' accounts?

- how do we check for overdue books (so we can chase for them to be returned), other than going through the whole library page by page?

Sorry if these are silly questions.

Would you please add me to the testers group?

>164 HollandseClub: Happy to help:

1. Yes! If you go to the "Your Books" page, click on the drop-down menu to the right of your "List | Covers" toggle button, and select the "Lending" page. This shows all of your Lending History, sorted by date. You can also view books by Lending status and look at basic Patron information and history (along with basic edits).

2. As noted above, just look at your "Overdue" books from this page. You can also export your books, which include the most recent Lending status for each item, along with who borrowed the book.

>165 bookbound: Sorry, I think I had been waiting for your church account to have more books cataloged (I checked last week and only saw a few). I'd be happy to add your account for testing! Please check 'Your groups'! :)

Thanks!The church account is momentarily small. They have been doing an inventory check based on the last saved list from the database that died. I'm meeting with a group of volunteers on Saturday to train them on how to enter books into the St. Pat's LT account. I appreciate being able to get my bearings with Tiny Cat using my bigger library.

Sounds great! If any of your volunteers have iPhones (or iPads), they can download our (free) LibraryThing App to add books *really* quickly. All they have to do is log into the library account (you can do this from multiple devices) and use the scanner in the app to add books! Have a look at the links below:

App on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/librarything/id948824489?mt=8
Blog post: http://blog.librarything.com/main/2015/10/librarything-app/

Is this *THE* app? Or is a separate TinyCat app expected? :)

@houserhenry #170
Tinycat is an OPAC web platform, neither an app nor a web app.
Post #169 seems to be an announcement of LT iOS app update.

No, it's a reminder to >168 bookbound: that it exists, and might be a good way for the church library volunteers to get the books entered. It has to be read in the context of answering that post.

>170 houserhenry: >171 cairoartsjp: What >172 MarthaJeanne: said, yes. Thanks for clarifying, @MarthaJeanne! :)

Thanks! Okay, I thought TinyCat was going to be mobile friendly so in my mind I translated that into an app. I appreciate the clarification ;)

Gotcha! TinyCat is mobile-friendly, by the way, just not the official "App" that we speak of on LT!

#175 by @kristilabrie>

Even having a site that is responsive (plays nice with different screen sizes and geometries) can be a big help. The show-stopper for the /m site has always been the meta tags that make the text microscopic AND forbid scaling. What data is searched was also a limitation but that is improved.

James

More silly questions :0)

Can we enter items on TinyCat that don't exist on LibraryThing?

We often lend out magazines (usually Dutch ones) which we put in a folder and enter on our existing sytem by the folder number in lieu of a book number. How would we do that with TinyCat, do you think?

It depends what you mean by "on LibraryThing". The only books that are on LT are the ones that users have added. If you add the item to your your LT library then you can lend it through TinyCat.

>177 HollandseClub: In short, no. Adding books/items to your library will always be done on LibraryThing. Any items you have added to your LibraryThing account, in turn, will be visible to you on TinyCat (unless you have Settings hiding certain Collections, etc).

>177 HollandseClub:

Is there any reason you wouldn't want to catalogue them on LibraryThing? You could put them in a separate collection (similar to the way you have a separate folder in your existing system).

I wouldn't mind putting them on LibraryThing, but these are weekly / monthly periodicals that we lend out upto 3 at a time. On our system (Access database), instead of a book code, we put the 3 magazines into a zipped folder, and each folder has a code which we use to lend it out.

ETA: just checked. The CueCat can read the barcode on one of the magazines, but it brings up no results, at least on Amazon UK and Amazon US.

>181 HollandseClub:
You can always add them manually. IN order for any of the Amazons to be able to find them, this code need to be an Amazon ASIN or an ISBN - and I suspect it is neither...

>181 HollandseClub: I suppose purists would hate it, but I see no reason why you couldn't have a catalog entry for the numbered folders. It won't help record what's in it, of course, so that's another issue. So to speak.

Hello. I have been busy adding books today and wanted to make a feature request. Would it be possible to make the "original language" field clickable in TinyCat, so as to be able to search by that field? Right now it is not clickable, and the contents of that field do not seem to appear in a general search either.

Thank you!

EDITED: I have "Original Language" ticked in my TinyCat "Searches" settings, but still can't seem to search this field.

In TinyCat - is there a way to enable the keyword search to turn up a book that has a crowd-sourced keyword? In other words, currently it seems that if I do a keyword search for "dogs", it only pulls up my books which either have "dogs" in the title, or if I myself added "dogs" as a tag. But if others have added that keyword, the search does not pull up the book. This would save me a lot of time, in that I would not have to go into each and every title and hand-tag them all. Maybe this functionality is there and I have just missed it? Thanks

Laura Wood
Tilden School

Hmm; I'll have to think about the magazine entries a bit more.

In the meantime, is there a way to mark patrons accounts as suspended, without deleting them and losing all their records? For instance, some Club members are relocated away from Singapore, but later come back and rejoin the Club, so they suspend their Club account and reactivate it when they return.

>186 HollandseClub: I'm posting to your profile!

Please remember, any specific test questions for TinyCat should be posted in our TinyCat Testers Group.

Thanks!

It looks like Tinycat will work great for our little library but the project is on hold until the import features can be improved. I have 1000+ items in an excel spreadsheet. We use a custom call number system. I see no way to import the data using the universal importer keeping both the ISBN and the call number. I'm not keen on manually inputting all the records. Will the importer be improved anytime soon or any suggestions for doing this within the current capabilities?

@biblechapel, you should be able to follow our custom .csv import (see the sample file on our Universal Import page) to import your custom call numbers as tags. You'll still need to migrate your tags over to your custom call numbers, after the fact, but it should be easier than manually adding all of your books and information.

Following our .csv import file, your books will be imported based on their ISBNs (if available—not required for .csv imports) and what data sources you import from, along with the following fields in your import file: title, author, publication date, publication information, tags, rating, and review. Check out our Help page, under "CSV Import", for more info: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/HelpThing:Import.

Please email us (info@librarything.com or tinycat@librarything.com) if you have further questions! I'm happy to help. (Kristi)

Can you add serials holdings into TinyCat? I don't believe there is an ISSN field in LibraryThing.

>190 GAGVLibrary: You're right, we don't have a data field for ISSN, nor do we have serials management available on LibraryThing (yet). It's on our list of features to include for LT and TinyCat, and we'll be sure to announce if/when that happens! Sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime.